Railroad switch and frog



(No Model.)

G. E. HARRIS. RAILROAD SWITCH AND FROG.

No. 600,720 Patepted Mar. 15, 1898.

WITNESSES: I //v vg/rofi I m W 460W 7 wwow.

I ATENT rricn.

CHARLES EZEKIEL HARRIS, OF ELLWOOD CITY, PENNSYLVANIA.

RAILROAD SWITCH AND FROG.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 600,720, dated March 15, 1898.

Application filed June 24, 1897. Serial No. 642,150. (No model.)

To all whom itmay concern.-

Beit known that I, CHARLES EZEKIEL HAR- RIS,Of Ellwood Oity,in the county of Lawrence and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and Improved Railroad Switch and Frog, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to animprovement in railroad switches and frogs; and it consists, essentially, in apeculiar construction of the rails by which objects which lodge between the fixed and movable rails will be raised out of the groove by the operation of the switch.

The details of construction will be hereinafter described and specifically claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forlninga part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a plan view of a switch, showing my invention as applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional elevation upon the line 2 2 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional elevation upon the line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

My invention is applicable to any form of switch-operating means, but is particularly designed to be used in connection with automatic switches or those which are operated by some mechanism connected with the train. In such case it is particularly desirable that the operation of the switch should not be interfered with by stones or other articles getting between the fixed and movable rail and thus preventing the movable rail froinbeing thrown to its proper position.

In the drawings, A represents the rails of the through or main track, and B the rails of a switch branching from the same. The movable sections D and D of the main track and switch are provided at the points with a horizontally-extending flange cl, the upper sur-..

face of which is located below the tread-surface of the rail.

The upper tread portion d of the rail is beveled in the usual manner. The complementary rail, which in this case is the outer rail,

The side edge of the rail or that section opposing the side of the beveled portion d is beveled at an incline sloping upward and away from the other rail, as shown at c. The under surface of the part E of the outer rail and the upper surface of the flange cl should lie approximately upon the same plane, the two being so proportioned that the flange d may be readily moved beneath the flat top portion E of the other rail when the same is not depressed by the Weight of the car. The flange d and the portion E should, however, be in such close contact that the flange 01 will contribute to support the portion E when the same is lowered by the passage of cars thereover.

The two movable sections D and D are connected by a cross-bar F or in any other suitable manner, so that they will move together. I also prefer to use a movable guard-rail O, which is pivoted near one end at O and con nected at its opposite end to the bar F. The sections D and D are shown as pivoted at D but any suitable means for supporting these rails so that their outer ends are movable will answer.

In using my device any object, such as indicated by the dotted circle J in Fig. 2, getting within the groove between the flange d and the inclined surface 6 will be raised out of the flange by said incline when the two parts are brought together. Stones and similar articles getting into this groove will thus be lifted out by the operation of the switch mechanism instead of choking orbloclring the same and preventing its operation. If used in connection with automatic switch mechanisms or those controlled from the train, this is a matter of vital importance. At the right in Fig. 1 the same construction is shown as applied to frogs. In this case the central point H is provided with two flanges h, one extending to each side and corresponding to the flanges 01 described for the switch.

The rails G are pivoted at g to the rails of the main track and switch or constructed in any other suitable manner which will permit their being shifted, and at their free or movable ends are provided with the broadened portions E, having the top tread-surface E overlapping the flange h and having the inclined edge e. It is not essential whether the section carrying the flange h or d is made movable or the section carrying the broadened tread-surface E. The beveled edge 6 may be formed upon either of these surfaces; The construction shown in the drawings is, however, the one which is preferred.

In a frog constructed as shown in the drawings the two parts G should be connected by a cross-bar F, connected to the switch-operating mechanism in such a Way as to move synchronously therewith.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. A switch-point, comprising two rails having side surfaces opposing each other, and having relative motion of approach and separation, the planes of said opposing surfaces converging downwardly, whereby foreign objects will be lifted out of the intervening groove by the approach of the rails, substantially as described.

2. Gomplementary'rails for switches and frogs,one rail having a horizontal recess opening to one side and located at the points heneath the tread portion, and the other rail having a side projecting flange fitting and adapted to enter said recess, one of said rails having the opposing surface of that part above said flange beveledaway from the other rail, substantially as described.

3. A switch comprising a rail having a broadened tread and a horizontal recess extending from the inside thereof beneath said tread, and a rail having a side projecting flange adapted to fit under the recess in the other rail, one of said rails being movable 1 relatively to the other, substantially as described- I 4:. A switch comprising a rail having a broadened tread and a horizontal recess eX- tending from the inside thereof beneath said tread, a rail having a side projecting flange adapted to fit and enter the recess of the other rail, a bar pivoted to one of said rails to move it, and a pivoted guard-rail connected to said bar, substantially as described.

CHARLES EZEKIEL HARRIS.

Witnesses:

W; J. HARRIS, J os. F. RYAN. 

